SUMMARY: For those looking for good cooling and a lower operating noise level there have been few choices. Thermaltake has a new cooler out that they think will handle the load PLUS give you lower volume in the noise category. Can their new heatsink really deliver? Come join Mike "Darthtanion" Wright as he delves into this very question while testing out the Thermaltake Volcano 9 HSF. It is a tall order to fill, so let's see if Thermaltake can handle the heat!
- Full Speed To run the fan at its maximum 4800 RPM speed at all times, just hook up the main power cable and let’er rip. Just make sure that the jumper is still attached as pictured above.
- Manual Adjustment To have the fan adjustable in a manual fashion, just remove the jumper and then hook up the manual rheo cable. Here’s what it looks like:
It goes into the enclosed connector on the fan, so there isn’t any way to get it in the wrong place. Again, just make sure to have the jumper removed so that you can take advantage of the adjustable speeds. Otherwise the fan will run at its maximum speed all the time. The adjustable settings will allow you to run it at slower speeds during times when you’re not stressing the system. This should be happy news for those who are wanting to quiet down their powerhouses. Here’s a closer look at the adjustment knob itself:
- Temperature Controlled Adjustment The final mode of adjustments available with this unit is the self-adjustment technique. As I stated in the original Volcano 7 review I did a while back, I don’t particularly care for this method because it takes the control out of my hands and puts it into the hands of an unintelligent object. But there are those who feel that this works great, and so the option is still there if you fall into this category.
To have the fan speed controlled by temperature, you again make sure that the jumper is removed. This will be impossible to forget since the place where the jumper is located is the connector that houses the probe. From there, you attach the included thermal probe to the connector, and then set it up to read temperatures. Here’s a peek at the cabling involved:
As to the actual installation of the probe, that’s really up to the user. There should basically be two places to be considered for this. Either attach it to the inner portion of the heatsink or to the bottom of the processor. To attach to the heatsink, you can run it into the central fins and then set it to where it is touching the copper core. Tape the cable so that it is secure and it’s set.
And if you want to attach it to the bottom of the processor, then you will be able to do so since the wiring that leads to the probe is very thin and not wrapped in extra plastic or rubber. This will allow you to secure the probe onto the bottom of the chip and then have the wires run between the pins of the processor.
No matter which setup you prefer, there are instructions available that will show you exactly what to do and how to do it. There is very little chance of messing it up.
The Clip
The clipping mechanism used for the Volcano 9 is not a modern marvel, but it is very functional and uses all lugs on the socket. This is especially helpful if you have recently broken off one of the central lugs due to a poor HSF installation in the past.
The clip itself was simple to put on, but since it is set so close to the sink, you may have a hard time getting the back of it set onto the lugs. There wasn’t any choice in this issue, however, due to the large size of the sink. So while it’s just a bit inconvenient, it’s not too much problem to overcome. Once you get the back lugs firmly seated, it didn’t take any excessive force to hook up the front side. And here’s something that was rather interesting:
This is the screwdriver slot on the clip. Notice how it offers a straight-down approach but includes an outer metal flange? This is a very nice touch as it keeps the screwdriver firmly planted in the slot and keeps it from making a new valley in your motherboard. For those who have done this before, the new valley was probably followed up by some very imaginative words.
